Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by cbarrett4:

Pours nicely with a decent head fading into a nice lace. Good hazy, deep golden color. The nose is kind of funky, musty almost, but with some citrus and hops. The flavor is good, rich hops, and has none of the funk I got from the nose. The texture is medium with decent tannins from the fresh, bitter hops. Fairly good but might be a bottle variation. Will purchase from a different store and re-evaluate again. =)

More User Reviews:

5/5 rDev +16.3%look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Appearance  The Ruination pours a gorgeous orange color with a terrific head that laced the heck out of my Ruination (what else?) glass on a modest pour. This one is thick through and through. I could stare at this all night if I didnt want to drink it so bad.

Smell  This one has a big, complex hop profile. I can pick up everything from nice floral notes to big citrus to very smooth pine resin. Theres also a good malty sweetness that gives this Double IPA an incredibly full bouquet. Its balanced but assertive in its style. The aroma announces the above-standard qualities of this ale.

Taste  This is very distinctive. Its big and complex with a huge hop flavor that screams, quality ingredients, mixed reasonably with some very attractive malts and a good caramel sweetness for balance. It is perfectly executed for the style and demands attention by the thoughtful beer drinker.

This is like a full course meal with different flavors all around but that satisfies in the end. The hops are very floral and mixed with a pinch of table sugar and a six-inch grapefruit wedge. You can learn a lot from this beer.

Mouthfeel  Theres just enough carbonation to make this one entertaining. It is full in the mouth and incredibly smooth. Its thick and chewy just like an American Double IPA should be.

Drinkability  My body loves this as it does oxygen. This brew is awesome. You dont want to drink it with any food because its so filling and so flavorful.

Update  This is a staple in my house, so I thought that Id re-review it with a batch from 2004. Is it still a perfect 5? Even after a bottle or two a week of this stuff its still perfect and I still havent found a better IPA.

Aroma is quite forward with the hop citrus and floral notes. Definitely heavy in the hop department just based on the nose. Some nice under-ripe lemon and grapefruit rind on the nose as well. Slight pine aroma.

Taste isn’t as great as I would have thought. Still their best IPA is Enjoy by. This beer just doesn’t live up to it. It is full of hops, so if that’s what you are going for then this may do it for you. It’s not all that well-balanced. Immediately your mouth is coated in a thick-bitter hop taste. You get some nice citrus notes near the middle and some slight pine, but these true beautiful flavors are short lived. The end flavor is just a harsh un-wanted bitterness that lingers and stays for too long. It prevents the next sip from fully being experienced due to this. I like bitter IPA’s, but I don’t like harsh IPA’s. This one doesn’t allow the citrus to play through, nor does it have the malt to cut back the bitterness to make the beer enjoyable while drinking. It tastes thick and bitter. Not my idea of a great IPA… their Enjoy By is what they should stick to!

Overall, this isn’t worth the time. Not well-balanced and just too harsh in terms of bitterness. The beer gets thick and overcoats the palate. The beautiful citrusy nose isn’t allowed to shine… Bummer. This really doesn’t pair too well with that many foods, but If I was to pair food with this beer, I would have to go with a spicy bowl of ramen. The spiciness will help compete with the level of bitterness of this beer. I give it a 79/100.

Poured from a 22 oz bottle into a pint glass. Pours a soft yellow-amber color with a bit of opaque haziness in the middle of the glass. The slightly less-than-white head looked very foamy and stayed on top of the brew all the way down. The lacing was magnificent - truly amazing.

The nose is just as advertised - FULL of hops. Hops, pines, and hop oils crowd your nose and send your nostrils on quite a trip. A hefty dose of citrus creeps up from the back as well. Very aromatic and perfume-like, just what you expect from a top of the line IPA. Walk through a field of pine trees. Stick your nose into a rose bush.

The taste jumps up and runs a goddamn number on your palate. Hops, hops, hops, and more hops. The hops have a huge pine taste surrounding them, kind of like drinking a liquid tree. Earthy and floral flavors also come out, especially as the beer warms. Grapefruit is noticeable, as are other citrus fruits, perhaps pineapple and orange zest being the best description.

The combo of the wet and pungent citrus rinds and the oily, hoppy bitterness assault is surely a palate destroyer, but in the best way possible. The tongue is left with a bit of hop bitterness and a touch of saltiness that keeps you thirsty for more. Medium-thick body with a sticky mouth-feel. The alcohol doesn't go unnoticed, but it doesn't hinder, either; it provides a nice, solid body that ties everything together.

Probably the best tongue-scrapingly-bitter DIPA that you can get almost anywhere. If you haven't had this beer, I suggest that you try to find it. Be prepared to take a few days off from drinking after you have this one, you'll taste nothing but hops for a while.

A: Pours a slightly murky, golden-orange into an oversized wine glass. Its one-finger head is pure white and leaves some wild sticky lacing on the sides of the glass. There is a dancing man contained in said lacing.

S: I mostly smell bitter citrus notes, some lemon peel and really bitter grapefruit. A decent amount of dry biscuit mingles with the hop aromas and a hint of pine complements the citrusy hop smells. There is not much balance to this aroma; the semi-sweet, caramel malt backbone that I crave in an IPA is absent. I think this absence leads to a bit of a transparent, watery smell.

T: An alpha acid hop-drop kick to the tongue is pretty much how I would describe the Ruination IPA. The lemon peel and bitter grapefruit aromas translate almost perfectly to the taste, but as the palate warms to the flavor, some sweeter orange and tangerine notes emerge. This is a pleasant surprise, as I was thinking my tongue would just be abused throughout the duration of my tasting experience. That said, this beer is a little light on an appropriate malt balance.

M: Relatively light bodied in the mouth, but with a killer hop backbeat on my taste buds, like a Steve Gadd/hop love-child. My brain says that I should crave a fuller malt balance from the mouthfeel, but my hop loving mouth says "nah, man, just let the bitterness dominate me. It's cool."

D: Pri-tay goood. I will have another in the future, but I do think the price tag is a quite steep at $3 plus per bottle. That is a little silly.

A level of bitterness to satisfy just about any hophead. I'll take this one whenever I can get it. I've found its best in a bomber. For some reason, in a 12oz, it doesn't have quite the effect or consistancy from my experience, but I suppose it could have been sitting on the shelf longer. The look is almost terrifying as the taste. The descriptions on the back of all Stone bottles is half worth the cost...I'm starting to wonder if they really are written by demons...

Appearance: Pours a crystal clear honey colored body with a nice fluffy head and plenty of lacing

Smell: Perfumed hoppy aroma; sweet grapefruit

Taste: Starts with a toasted bready flavor that quickly gives way to some serious bitterness that coats the tongue like a blanket; there is some residual sweetness but the tastebuds just can't handle it due to the IBUs; clear alcoholic warming as the liquid goes down the gullet

Mouthfeel: Thick and syrupy with good levels of carbonation

Drinkability: Nowhere near as drinkable in quantity as the Stone IPA, this is a brewing achievement on the extreme level; just not something I want a lot of

Rich orange-amber and lighter than expected. The cream colored head is tinted with a hint of lemon yellow and looks like a thick dollop of whipped cream sitting atop the beer. Glass decoration is very nice. There's a copious amount of sticky lace in sheets and rings.

The nose is a wonderous thing to behold, with loads and loads of pungent, floral, fruity, piney hops. The flavor is wall-to-wall hops, but it isn't as abrasive as expected. A tidal wave of hop flavor hits the taste buds instantly and maintains its intensity through the long, bright, hoppy finish. Flavors include grapefruit, lemon, orange and pine in one glorious, sticky, sweet rush.

There's an undercurrent of malt, but it remains in the background where it belongs. Stone Ruination is definitely bitter, but this brewery has a way of making beer with a massive amount of IBUs seem almost sweet and buttery. Which brings me to...

... the mouthfeel, which is all kinds of wonderful. It's full and rich and silky smooth and heavily creamy and perfect. The alcohol is expertly masked, with no hint on the palate, though it does result in a pleasant warming sensation as the beer is swallowed.

I have to hand it to the boys at Stone once again, this is truly a wonderful beer. Both IPA and Ruination are great, but I'll have to give the nod to the little brother. This DIPA is still a treat and will be a 'go to brew' whenever huge amount of hops are required. Which is most of the time.

Pours a rich golden color, simple at a glance with nice clarity. Soft thin white head blankets the top for a few moments before drifting to the edges and floating on top like a halo. Rope lacing coats my mug 360 degrees. Hops are direct and powerful in this classic styled IPA. Slightly sweet citrus on the finish. A tasty bitterness never leaves the tongue. The feel is bubbly and tingly on the tongue with a more than moderate amount of dryness on the finish. The alcohol is not as pronounced as I expected considering the 8+ abv. Well done on this quality offering from Stone.

Pours a nice clear golden color with a very sticky head.Whoa what a aroma almost made me sneaze,big piney and zesty hop here no malt aroma to speak of but very appetizing.Taste to be expected was highly hopped to say the least zesty grapefruit and light pine even a slight medicinal note in the finish,.a hop monster I have wanted to try and got exactley what I bargained for here.

I was worried that I had left this in my cellar too long but damn it still delivers even after 6 months. The pine resin is so damn aromatic and delicious. Butter toast and caramel follow. Rich and creamy, very bitter. Grapefruit enters too. Light on the carbonation, thick bodied. Brilliant orange color. Super drinkable. Super rich. This is just a fantastic brew.

A: Cloudy yellow color with a nice white head that settles a little to fast. Some lacings.

S: Smell is very hop forward, but still rather balanced. Lots of hop resins and citric notes. It goes a little perfumy, but not overly so. Hints of pine-needles. However, the hops seem a bit faded and have probably lost some definition since the bottling. The malts get through really well with a nice complementary caramel-like sweetness and aromas of white bread.

T: Loads of hop resins and grapefruit in the mouth. But again, the hops seem to be on a downward slope, so I guess this bottle isn't completely fresh. A hint of tobacco and more floral and grassy hop notes. The malty backbone is fresh with a pleasant semi-sweet taste of caramel and white bread. The finish is very very bitter with lots of hop resins and pine-needles. The bitterness actually gets a little overpowering since the hop aromas doesn't seem to hold up.

D: A very good DIPA with lots and lots of hops and complex flavors. Despite the massive bitterness in the finish it really manages to come off quite balanced. Too bad I suspect that this bottle was a little old.

A bit light in body, a tad lacking in the malt department...it's all over, under and thoroughly about the hops (wish I could which ones). Quite an interesting approach, bitter, yeah, but not too much, and still drinkable.